Speech recognition systems have been incorporated into many useful applications so that users may utilize the applications without having to manually operate an input device, such as a mouse or a keyboard. Personal computer systems (desktop, laptop, handheld, etc.) and automobile systems are only two examples of systems, or platforms, which may include integrated speech recognition functions.
A single platform may have several applications executing at a given time. For example, in an automobile computer system that utilizes speech recognition software, there may be speech recognition applications for radio operation, navigational tools, climate controls, mail, etc. Personal computers may include word processors, spreadsheets, databases and/or other programs that utilize speech recognition. Each speech recognition application has a grammar associated with it that is a set of commands that the application is attempting to detect at any one time.
As the number of speech recognition applications and grammars has increased, it has become increasingly problematic to run multiple speech recognition application a single platform. When a speech recognition system receives such a command, it must be able to determine which application the speaker directed the command to and which application should respond to the user. Similarly, a speech recognition system should be able to handle training interactions between multiple applications and at least one speech recognition engine. For example, if a word in one application requires training, a system should allow for training of that word and optionally association of that word with a particular grammar or grammars. If so desired, such a system should also allow for training in a “user interfaceless” fashion, i.e., without requiring an application to implement an additional user interface and/or to alter an existing user interface.